On the nineteenth day of Christmas, Black Library gave to us…a Dark Angels audio drama by Gav Thorpe. Another twenty-minute audio, Holder of the Keys sees an unnamed member of the Fallen offering his recollection of events that took place on and around Caliban 10,000 years previously, as he suffers under psychic interrogation by the titular Holder of the Keys. His confession, drawn out of him under duress, paints a very different picture of events to those held to be true by the Dark Angels Inner Circle.
The story of the Fallen provides a neat bridge between current 40k and the Horus Heresy, one which Gav uses here to good effect, reminding listeners that there are always two sides to every story, even that of the most important event in the history of the Dark Angels. As the Fallen’s tale unfolds it’s difficult not to sympathise with him, though there’s always the underlying question of whether or not he’s really telling the truth. This is another great example of an ideal story to be told in audio format, with its usual high standards, and one which continues the trend of providing more questions than answers.
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